The Life and Times of Captain James Hook
by Alyssa Tolensky
Summary: We know the villianous Captain Hook, but do you know the story of James Hooke before his life of priacy and his mission to destroy Peter Pan? It may have been possible that James was once a boy who didn't want to grow up and be a boy forever.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to this story. All characters mentioned are not mine. They are originally owned by Mr. James Barry and the movie "Hook" is owned by Columbia Pictures. I no own, so you no sue.**

**A/N: This is simply the prologue. It is not necessary to read it, but you as the reader are more than welcome. Bare in mind that the point of view of this story will not continue as Smee's point of view after this prologue.**

It's been several years since that dreadful day that the Captain's life was taken by that crocodile. It doesn't seem to make much sense. The crocodile was killed and stuffed, yet somehow, it managed to eat poor Captain Hook. Well, this is Neverland I suppose. Things have never been quite right 'round this place.

Oh, I beg your pardon. My name is Mr. Smee. Mr. Bartholomew Quigley Smeethington. I was once Captain Hook's trusted assistant and best friend. Well, you say that Captain James never had friends? Of course he did. He had me didn't he?

Well, I know that the captain wouldn't take to kindly to me telling you the story of his life. Then again, he didn't remember the full story after a while, so I suppose he wouldn't have gotten too upset even if he was still around. I'll tell the full story of the life and times of Captain James Hook to the best of my abilities. He told me most of the beginning when we were only children, the rest of the story is my own first hand account.

Here we go…


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to this story. The only characters I made up are Captain James Matthew, Redford, and Elise Matthew-Hooke. I no own, you no sue.**

Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning will take you to a magical place where you're free to do as you please and watch as all your wildest dreams unfold before your very eyes. The island was drowned in several arching rainbows and ended in the sparkling waters of mermaid lagoon and just off of the docks of the pirate village. Seagulls laughed as they flew around the large white sail of a massive red pirate ship known as the "Scarlet Wench". It was aligned with gold painted trim and was decorated with a fearsome skeleton in the front seeming to hold up the entire front end of the vessel.

As the ship made it's way into port, a huge roaring crowd gathered by the gang plank welcoming the most honorable pirate, Captain James Matthew. He had just returned from yet another successful pillaging. His crew cheered as the gang plank was lowered and they were free to roam the docks and meet up with any available wenches to relieve their tension from the long journey at sea. Captain Matthew smiled as he gazed upon his empire. It was all perfect. No one dared questioned his command, no one dared to stand in his way. He sighed and looked up into the clouds. A young boy glided above, the wind blowing his light brown hair.

Captain Matthew nodded. Almost three years ago, the pirates had finally made peace with the lost boys. They agreed that if the boys stayed off the docks and out of the way of any pirate business, the pirates would stay out of the jungles and out of the way of the boy's business.

"It's great to be home, eh, Captain?" asked a rather thin man with a bushy red beard carrying a large black hat decorated with a big white feather. Captain Matthew took the hat and placed it carefully on his head.

"Indeed it is, Redford." He replied. "It is great to home and then some." He said as he walked down the wooden plank, his black boots clomping as he walked until he reached the cobblestone road.

"Uh, Captain?" Redford asked.

"Yes?" Captain Matthew looked down with his stern dark eyes.

"I'm going to the pub. Are you going to join me?" he asked. Captain Matthew waved casually at him.

"Yes, yes. Of course. I'll meet with you later." He replied as he made his way through the street filled with cheering pirates and wenches. "I've got other business to attend to." He said to himself as he made his way to his destination past the excited crowd. He simply smiled and waved at them, but the idea of fame was the last thing from his mind at the moment. After walking for several moments and finally being rid of the fans, he made it to a rather large mansion where he would retire for the rest of the afternoon.

After knocking on the large oak door, he was greeted by a small elderly woman named Hilda. She smiled when she saw him.

"You made it just in time, sir." She said taking his hat and coat and setting it on the rack. "Your wife just gave birth to your child." She informed. At a quickened pace, he walked up the stairs to the bedroom where his wife lay with a small bundle in her arms. As he walked into the room, he removed his long white curly wig and let his silky black hair down in which was pulled back with a red ribbon.

"James," his wife murmured. "Come see your son." She said. Upon hearing this, James chuckled. A son, an heir to his legacy. It's just what he and his wife had always dreamed. He made his way to the bedside and leaned over to see his son. He had thick black hair, and his face was a perfect combination of both his mother and father's features.

"Elise, he's perfect." James said stroking the baby's face gently so as not to wake him. "What are we going to name him?" he asked as he smoothed down his wife's curly dark brown hair.

"I was thinking we would name him after his father, James." She suggested. He nodded in agreement and kissed her softly. The baby made a soft noise and easily got his parents' attention. The little boy yawned and slowly opened his bright blue eyes. "I do hope his eyes stay that color." Elise said looking up at her husband. He looked at his wife's green eyes. He shook his head.

"The babe's eye color is more than likely to change, I'm afraid." He said walking to the window. He put his hands behind his back and sighed. Elise looked at him puzzled.

"James, what is it?" she asked. He sighed and glanced at her over his shoulder.

"I am to leave tomorrow." He replied focusing his gaze out the window once more. He watched as the tiny people below walked by gazing up at him.

"What? But you have just returned!" she said keeping her voice soft enough so as to not startle young James.

"I understand that, but please, Elise." He said. "I am needed elsewhere. The war is getting worse you realize." The war, in which he was referring, was a pirate war involving himself and several other pirate captains and pirate lords in a feud over territory and plunder. It was all rather so complicated that not even Captain Matthew could really explain how negotiations were being made.

"I understand, but…"she looked down at her now sleeping child. "what about James? What if you won't return next time and the boy grows up without a father?" she asked.

"I know that it's a hard position your in, but please…don't do this to me." He said. "I must leave before sunrise tomorrow morning. After that, I'll be honest, I cannot guarantee that I will return a second time." He said. A single tear rolled down her cheek, but he was quick to wipe it away. "Please, I must do what I must." With that, he got up and exited to the parlor.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to this story. Except for Dean and James' mother, Elise and Aunt Em.**

**A/N: Sorry if this chapter is long at first and ends rather rushed. I typed up this chapter around 3 am and was starting to get really tired.**

Several years had passed since that day, and Captain Matthew and the beloved "Scarlet Wench" hadn't been seen since it left port. Everyday, Elise would stand by the window and look out to the glistening blue sea and waited to see those white sails appear on the horizon. She would simply stand there for hours holding her precious son in her arms.

The young James grew quickly and as his father had said, his eyes in fact did change color to a light shade of brown. His black hair hung over his curious eyes unless normally pulled back by a red ribbon in a similar fashion as his father's. On somedays as he played with his toys, he glanced up at his mother standing in the soft, warm sunlight in front of the window and wondered why she looked so upset and why tears rolled down her face. The best he could do to cheer her up was to wobbly walk over to her and hug her leg.

Elise would look down smile and pick him up. She held him tightly and continued sobbing. She had assumed the worst. Her husband, she figured, was dead. Never would he return from the war. Never again would he see his growing son. Never again would he see his loving wife. And never again would she be able to kiss him and have him hold her close. The depression ate at her, that around the time James was around the age of four, she stopped sleeping throughout the entire night.

Elise soon discovered that she couldn't raise her son like this. She didn't have the strength to play with him without crying. She couldn't really look at him without thinking of her husband. After a while, James didn't even bother to stay around his mother for very long. He thought that the sight of him made her upset because she didn't like him or something to that extent. And although this was not the case, how do you explain the situation she was in to a four-year-old boy.

His mother would every now and then contemplate the thought of just ending all her pain. She wanted to escape all the suffering she was undergoing. These thoughts of suicide haunted her nearly every waking moment of every day. These ideas never seemed to leave the forefront of her mind, until she thought of James.

She couldn't imagine her only son growing up without a father or a mother to watch over him. What would he turn out to be? What would he become?

She finally made the decision of having her sister-in-law, Emily Matthews, live with them to take care of James for her when she couldn't. Emily happily took the offer and moved in with them straight away. Her wiry red hair was pulled back into a bun and had stray hairs stick out every which way. Her pale face was littered with freckles and she always wore a pleasant smile.

James was glad to finally have a playmate and someone to look after him. She loved the boy like the son she never had and for that, Elise was very thankful.

Six years later, Emily was out in the courtyard helping Hilda plant more unnecessary flowers in the garden. The garden was completely covered with all sorts of flowers; daisies, tulips, daffodils, gardenias, chrysanthemums, tall sunflowers, roses, and foxgloves. Even a few orchids could be seen in the jungle of flowers that Emily had mostly single-handedly made. When James was much younger, he would sometimes carry out the watering pale and sprinkle the flowers on the thirsty plants with his aunt. But those days are long since gone. James was beginning to grow up and become a man.

Emily wiped her forehead to free herself of the sweat dripping down her face. "Aunt Em! Aunt Em!" A voice cried. From across the courtyard. Emily looked up, James was running toward her through the path among the flowers, his black boots that wear clean just moments ago were now filthy with mud and dirt.

"Jamie!" Emily yelled as he got closer.

"Is mother feeling any better?" James asked referring to his mother's head cold.

"She's doing much better today, Jamie." She replied, her thick cockney accent flooding her speech. "Made her a bowl a soup last night and she seems much better this morning." She informed. James nodded.

"I'm glad she's doing better." He replied.

"I am, too." She said patting him on the head before returning to her gardening. James looked out to the sea and saw the large tree on the cliff far past the docks.

"Aunt Em." James said glancing down at his aunt.

"Yeah, what is it, Jamie?"

"Why is it that we're not allowed to go into the forest?" he asked. "I heard the sailors swapping stories about monsters and phantoms lurking the trees. Is that true?" Emily got up and wiped the soil on her skirt.

"It's as true as that sea is blue. I'm afraid. Monster of all kinds live out there." She said as a matter-of-factly. "Besides, it was a deal we made with the beasts out there a long long long long long time ago, it was. They promised never to come into town or roam or docks as long as we didn't go into their forest." James looked back at the tree. Emily put her hands on her hips. "You weren't planning on exploring in there were you?" she asked him sternly.

James vigorously shook his head. "Oh no, Aunt Em. Not I. The thought hadn't even crossed my mind." He said innocently. She smiled.

"Good, now you run along and play with your little friends in the town." She said scooting him off. "Just be back in time for supper."

"I will!" He called as he began to run off. He shook his head and slowed to a walking pace as he reached town. 'What friends? All the boys here are so feeble minded.' He thought to himself as a pudgy little blonde boy came running up to him.

"James! James! Wait up!" the boy called. James rolled his eyes.

'Speak of the devil.' He thought. "Hey, Smee." He said unexcitedly as he continued walking. Little Bartholomew or Smee as he was called, pushed his falling glasses back up on his nose and pulled up his baggy grey pants. James couldn't stand the sight of him. His blonde hair was always a mess, he pushed his large glasses closer to his eyes all the time, his pants were too baggy, and his red and yellow striped shirt along with his brown leather vest looked like they had never been cleaned. The only reason he kept him around was because he was the only boy in town about his age that would follow his orders and never really questioned him.

The other boys, however, always picked on him and gave him a hard time because he was so much shorter and thinner than they were. Although he was rather wealthy, he refused to over eat. James believed that being larger was not a very appropriate sign of wealth. Wearing nice clothes showed that we were wealthy. To James, fat was fat. And even though Smee was a rather squat little boy, his family was anything but wealthy. The Smeethington family was dirt poor.

At one time or other, his family owned large tracts of land and a rather large some of money. One day however, Lord Smeethington lost it all in a bet. He bet everything he owned and all the money he possessed that it was possible that the mermaids around the island were only manatees. A rather foolish gamble on Smeethington's part. It was quickly proven that the mermaids were not manatees. The mermaids were mermaids. It was as simple as that. As quickly as he made the bet, he lost everything he had.

"Smee, I know what we're doing on this fine Tuesday afternoon." James proclaimed.

"What's that?" Smee asked pushing up his glasses. James brought his close and looked around. He whispered something into his ear before Smee announced "Going into the forest?!" James slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Be quiet!" he hissed making sure no one heard that. No one had heard a thing from the looks of it. "Yes, we are going into the forest, Smee." He whispered as they walked.

"But, James, what about the ferocious beasts that lurk in there? I heard Dean Malloy say that him and this other kid went in there once and he watched the kid get his head ripped clean from his shoulders." Smee explained. James gave him a skeptical look.

"What was this kid's name?" he asked. Smee shrugged.

"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me. But he said the scene was gruesome!" Smee shuttered. "Could you imagine?"

"Dean." James scoffed. "He's fooling you, Smee. That was probably all made up. Dean hasn't set one foot in that forest, but we will." James said pulling out a dagger. "We're going to hunt those beasts and bring back their skins. And everyone will say 'Those are the bravest boys we've ever seen!'" James said with a smile. He sighed as he continued to imagining his fantasy. Suddenly, they stopped. They had reached where the forest starts. Jame's smile faded quickly and looked down at Smee who's knees were shaking.

"Um, uh…just to be sure it's safe, Smee, you go in first." James said moving behind Smee.

"M-m-me?" he asked still shaking.

"Uh, uh yeah." James said nervously. "I mean, you wouldn't want anything bad to happen to me would you?" he asked. Smee shook his head.

"Well, I suppose not, but I—" Smee said before James pushed him. Smee slowly creeped up to the first tree. He closed his eyes and turned his head away as he reached out to poke it. James, watched anxiously as his friends' finger went ever closer to the branch of the small tree. Finally, the tip of Smee's finger touched the branch. Smee opened his eyes and looked back to see his hand hadn't been eaten by some sort of creature.

"James, it's okay." Smee said happily. James scoffed.

"I knew it." He said leading the way. "There are no wild beasts in the forest or else they would've gotten us by now." They walked deeper and deeper into the forest until the town was completely out of sight. The forest had rather large tall trees draped with thick vines around the branches and had several patches of flowers that sniffed the boys curiously as they walked by. Smee stopped and crouched down to get a better look at the strange flower. The flower took another sniff.

"Achoo!" the flower sneezed a handful of pollen on Smee's face. Smee simply took off his glasses and cleaned the pollen away using his shirt. Quickly, he caught up to James who didn't seem to pay much attention to the sniffing daffodils.

After several minutes of literally weaving in and out of trees, they came upon a wall of large leaves. James stood tall and looked the curtain up and down.

"Oh well, a dead end." Smee shrugged happily. "Let's go home." He suggested before James grabbed a hold of the back of his shirt.

"We're not going anywhere, Smee." James said as he parted the wall of leaves to reveal an entire playground surrounded by large oak trees. The trees had what seemed to be tents placed on the wooden platforms built in the branches. James and Smee took another step or two forward, amazed by what they saw. Paint adorned the playground along with chalk sketches on the hard, packed earth.

James couldn't believe what he was seeing. No monsters could live out here. It wasn't at all what he or Smee expected. They were expecting to see stains of blood on the ground and the trees along with several human skeletons and perhaps a gargantuan pile of human skulls. They even thought that they would have been captured by the beasts and torn to shreds by then. But alas, they were still alive and there were no skeletons, no skulls, and no signs of blood

The boys walked out onto the playground quietly. After a minute or two. James chuckled.

"What did I tell you, Smee?" he said putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "There are no monsters here. All I see is a couple of doodles and little walkways in the trees."

"But, James, it there are no monsters out here, then how did the doodles and walkways get here?" he asked. Just before James had a chance to answer, there was a sudden surrounding noise of yelling. Smee grabbed hold of James in fear, however, he was quickly shoved away as James brought his dagger to the ready. It seemed the monsters would get them after all. Suddenly, the source of the noise became visible. It was nothing, but a group of boys about their age.

However, James kept his dagger up. He wouldn't risk letting his guard down even if they were just a bunch of kids. The eight kids surrounded the two. They raised their slingshots and clubs ready to destroy James and Smee. It seemed to be the end for them when suddenly, the sound of a rooster crow echoed through the trees. Then came a thud behind them. The boys quickly turned around.

There stood before them nothing, but a boy. Just a boy who didn't seem over the age of eleven. Twelve at the most. His hair was a thick tangled messed of brown hair and he was dressed in chains of leaves, a green vest and a pair of strange green tights.

"Lost boys!" he yelled. "Lower your weapons so I my talk to the new comers." The boy said and the boys parted to let him through. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" he asked rather politely.

"Uh, my name is James Matthew Hooke and uh, this is my socially awkward associate, Mr. Bartholomew Smeethingon. Smee for short. And we're from the docks and—"

"The docks?" the boys all asked softly at once before whispering to each other.

"The docks, eh?" the boy asked circling them and looking them up and down. "I most certainly believe that claim. None of us lost boys own clothes like that, well, except for your friend, Smee there." Smee looked down on his dirty shirt.

"Yes, well." James spoke up. "And you are?" he asked.

"Peter. Peter Pan." He replied heroically putting his hands on his hips. "I take it, you two aren't lost." Peter said. James and Smee looked at each other confused by this statement.

"Well, sort of, but mot really." James explained. "I mean, the docks aren't that hard to find. I guess we could just follow the coast—"

"No, no, no." Peter said waving his hands. "I meant, lost as in, you don't have a family, no parents, no home. Lost?" James laughed.

"Oh! No, I live with my mother and my aunt." He said.

"I live with my father…I think…poor man hardly notices when I come and go any more. Getting on in years, he is." Smee explained sadly. Peter smiled.

"Well, why not live here with us?" Peter asked. All the boys started agreeing with him. Smee looked around.

"May I really?" Smee asked as he pushed up his glasses.

"Sure! Why not?" Peter proclaimed putting a hand on his shoulder. "Welcome to the Lost boys, Smee." James grabbed Smee's hand.

"Smee, what are you doing? We came in here to hunt for beasts not look for a place to live!" he said sternly. Smee looked disappointed. "I know it sounds nice, but you're father is still alive and if you leave, he'll probably miss you. He cares about you, you know." Peter looked confused.

"James, if you want you can live with us, too." Peter offered.

"No thanks. My mother needs me. She's sick. If I left her and Aunt Em…it would break their hearts." James said. Peter shrugged.

"After a while, you won't care. You'll just forget them if you want so they don't hold you back. Neverland makes you do that you know?" Peter said.

"What?" James asked confused. He's lived in Neverland his whole life, never had he really forgotten anything like that. He had forgot to do simple little chores here and there, but nothing like forgetting his mother and his aunt. They had been too good to him all these years.

"How long have you lived in pirate village, James?" one of the small boys asked.

"Um, ten years." James replied.

"Really? Only ten?" Peter asked. "I thought you were older like twenty or something?" Was he joking? James didn't think he looked at all twenty years old. This kid living on his own most have completely lost his mind. Perhaps that's why they call themselves the lost boys. They've all just lost their minds out here.

"Well, fine. How old are you?" James asked him. Peter did a quick count on his fingers.

"I think about forty something." He shrugged. The rest of the boys nodded in agreement. 'Sounds about right.' And 'I think so.' They muttered to each other.

"Forty something?" James asked in disbelief. Him and Smee had to get out of there before they too lost their minds amongst those strange boys.

"Smee, let's get out of here." James whispered. Smee nodded.

"I'm right behind you." Smee replied quietly.

"Alright, this has been well and fun, but I do believe it's time Smee and I headed back home." James informed starting to run. Suddenly, Peter landed on his feet right in front of him. "Whoa! How did you? How did you do that?" James asked surprised looking around for a way that he could have pulled off that little trick.

"I can fly." Peter stated plainly. James and Smee briefly looked at each other and started to laugh. Okay, this had to be a joke. Flying was impossible. "Hey, what are you laughing at?" Peter demanded.

"Well, Peter, it's just that, it's impossible!" James debated. Peter smirked as he slowly lifted off the ground before them. "That's –that's incredible Peter!"

"Eh, not really." Peter replied still slightly hovering over the ground. "All it takes is some faith, trust—" Suddenly, as if on cue, a shining ball of light zipped from somewhere in the trees and landed gently on his shoulder.

"Someone call for me?" The ball of light dimmed to reveal what looked like a tiny woman. Peter grinned.

"And of course, pixie dust." He finished.

"That's right." The woman said. James walked closer to get a better look at her. Suddenly, James realized what she was.

"You're a-a fairy." James said.

"Her name's Tinkerbell." Peter introduced.

"A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Bell." James smiled holding out a finger for her to shake. "The name's Hooke, James Hooke."

"Well, it's great to meet you, James Hooke." Tinkerbell replied with a smile. Never had James or Smee seen a fairy before. They had only heard of fairies in children's picture books and they seemed much different from looking at Tinkerbell. The ones in the books were big and granted wishes of sorts. Clearly, Tinkerbell was very small and didn't seem to carry any sort of wand at all.

Then, all the boys introduced themselves one by one to James and Smee. Finally, it seemed that the two now had friends to play with besides each other.

After several hours of talking and introductions, the sun began to set and it was time to head back home. "I promised my Aunt I would be home in time for supper." James informed everyone. "But I promise we'll be back tomorrow all day." He promised.

"Alright. We have to start making dinner, too. But it was nice meeting you guys." Peter said. "We look forward to playing with you tomorrow!" he called as they left the playground. As they made it back to the docks, the two boys smiled at each other as they discovered the truth about the forest beyond the docks.


End file.
